Australia's highly-awaited tour of India was touted to be a gruelling affair with the world's top two Test sides fighting for supremacy in the longest version of the game. And, after three Tests in the four-match series, it's safe to say that it has undoubtedly lived up to the billing.

If a gripping contest between the bat and ball wasn't enough, a fair share of controversies and personal duels arguably got emotions soaring for cricket fans. Such was the intensity that it, apart from the cricketers, even got the cricket boards of the two countries at loggerheads, further enticing media scrutiny.

While the Australian media has been vocal about its criticism over Virat Kohli's conduct in the series, their Indian counterparts, too, have highlighted the antics of the visiting Australians following the 'cheatgate' slur in the second Test.

But despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) calling for a truce, it seems that there is no stopping the persistent attacks of the Australian media on the Indian captain.

After the third Test in Ranchi resulted in a draw, the Australian media once again fired verbal volleys against Kohli and even compared the 28-year-old to US President Donald Trump.

"Virat Kohli has become the Donald Trump of world sport. Just like President Trump, Kohli decided to blame the media as a means of trying to hide the egg smeared right across his face," the Daily Telegraph claimed.

The incident

Following the DRS controversy in Bengaluru, Kohli's shoulder injury during the Ranchi Test sparked another debate between the two sides. Allegations and denials flew thick and fast between rival captains with the Indian captain alleging that his team's physio, Patrick Farhart, was "disrespected" by the visitors during the third Test.

Kohli claimed that some Australian players unnecessarily taunted Farhart but Steven Smith rubbished the claim. "They (four-five of them) started taking Patrick's name. I don't know why. He's our physio. His job is to treat me. I don't find the reason behind it. I could not understand. You must ask why they have started taking his name," said Kohli after the Ranchi Test ended in a draw.

“Virat was having a go at me out in the middle and saying how I was disrespecting Patrick Farhart when actually it was the exact opposite. If I was to do anything, (I was inferring) he did a pretty terrific job to get Virat back on the field after that shoulder,” the Australian captain said.

Cheap Shots

Ever since Kohli voiced his allegations against the Smith brigade for flouting the rules in Bengaluru, the Australian media has been persistent in their attack on the Indian captain. After the second Test, the media from Down Under accused Kohli of hitting their team official with a Gatorade bottle.

If that wasn't enough, they went on to attack Team India coach Anil Kumble, calling him "the puppeteer behind the scenes". And despite desperate calls to focus on cricket, the Australian news website seems to be hell-bent in making Kohli 'Public Enemy No. 1'.

"Kohli's performances are well down, with just 46 runs at an average of 9.2 this series - the lowest return of a specialist batsman from either side. Even Mitchell Marsh (48) has made more runs, and another injured bloke Mitchell Starc (118) has more than double the Indian captain," the Daily Telegraph claims.

First things first, there's no doubt that Kohli is struggling to score runs in the series and, yes of course, we would love to see the Indian skipper slamming bowlers all around the park. But, for a batsman of Kohli's class, judging him purely on the back of three Tests wouldn't be wise.

I mean, Kohli had recently become the first-ever batsman to score double-hundreds in four successive series. Given his standards, we don't generally expect Kohli to struggle, but he's human after all.

Spirit of cricket

Another ludicrous claim read: "Special players are allowed to have bad series, but Kohli's great crime is he's proven that the spirit of cricket is officially dead". Like seriously?

An Australian cricketer condemning sledging is funny as hell. It reminds us of former Aussie wicket-keeper Ian Healy, who himself was infamous for sledging during his playing days, claiming to have lost respect for Kohli due to his over-aggressive conduct.

Had this been South Africa or even Pakistan, the claims would have somewhat made sense. But, for a cricket-playing nation like Australia whose brand of cricket has been weaved around sledging, the statement is just unbelievably outrageous.

The verdict

It's probably expected from journalists to disseminate information that normally fails to reach the masses. But, for the people getting paid to influence the readers through their words, stories made out of thin air and further sensationalised are the last thing anyone wants.

The ongoing series has already witnessed its fair share of controversies and, even if we enjoy the sight of two cricketers engrossed in a heated exchange, it's high time we bring the focus back to cricket.

And we couldn't agree more with the former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who rightly pointed out, "We should not bother too much about the Australian media and what they write as they are an extension of their cricket team's support staff. The focus now should shift to cricket from off-the-field issues."